10 Top Tips on How to Influence Online buying by Diane Shawe

The trends and predictions are already in for 2016. Many digital advancements will be made in 2016, from the rise of mobile messaging apps to mobile commerce finally gaining some mojo.

You the reader even you are becoming more savvy and intend to be heard when things are not going right. Smartphone use is driving up the number of inbound calls to businesses. Voice-activated search has been rising steadily. Consumers are talking to personal assistants through their smartphones and cars, and those “assistants” are getting smarter. And with the rise of smart watches and connected home devices, they’re talking to a wider variety of devices from various locations.

Marketers need to be prepared and ready to optimise digital content for speech-based (not keyword) queries and learn how to make sure that content can be discovered by personal assistants.

– So what about small businesses, the lone sole trader, what can you do to influence online buying?

Change your ads Your prospects could get bored seeing the same ad all the time. Statistics show people usually see the same ad 7 times before they actually buy. Just change them enough to keep them from being over-exposed. For example, if your ad said. “FREE Killer Marketing E-book!”, you could change it later on to “FREE Sizzling Marketing E-book!”

Give people a deadline to order. Tell people if they order by January 15 2016, they will get a discount or free bonuses. This will create an urgency so they don’t put off buying. Another example, “Order before 8:00 p.m. and get a second product of your choice for free!”

Publish testimonials on your ad copy. They will give your business credibility and you’ll gain people’s It’s important to include the person’s full name and location with the testimonial.

Allow people to make money reselling the product or Tell people they can join your affiliate program if they order. You could pay them per sale, per click, per referral, etc. Just provide them with proven and tested marketing materials, detailed statistics and plenty of affiliate training.

Offer a buy-one, get-one-free deal. If you sell more than one product, this type of deal works People will feel they are getting more for their money and will order quicker. You could also offer them a ‘buy one, get one half’, ‘buy two, get the third one free’, ‘buy two, get a free watch’.

Have them sign up to get access to download a free e-book. The subject of the e-book should be related to your target audience. You could have them sign up to a opt-in list or your regular The e-book should have high perceived value so they’ll take the time to sign up. Landing pages are really good for this.

Give your visitors a free membership inside your Members Only web site or closed membership group on LinkedIn or Facebook. Have them sign up to receive a user name and password or an exclusive invitation. Members groups are particularly good on LinkedIn and your blogs because each time you post some news they get an automatic update.

Offer your visitors free consulting via e-mail. Have them fill out a web form to e-mail you with their When you answer their questions, include an offer for a product you sell or highly recommend products that could help them. You could join the product’s affiliate program to earn commission if they take your advice.

Give people free bonuses when they order your product or The free bonuses could be books, jewelry, reports, newsletters, etc. Make their bonuses sound extra valuable by listing their retail value, either separately or together in one amount, or limiting how long you will offer the bonuses. (you can partner with free gift websites)

Provide free package and postage with all orders. If you can’t afford it, you could offer free P&P on orders over a specific You could also offer a rebate on their P&P costs. Most customers probably won’t send in the rebate card unless it’s a huge shipping cost, for example, £30 or more